


In the Arms of the Angel

by Monkeygirl77



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel making plans, Castiel on a power trip, Death is snarky, Except This Once, Healthy Relationships, Leviathans are bad news, Leviathon are still bad, Michael and Lucifer make an appearance, More then once, Not Good, Prayers cant go ignored, Prayers finally get answered, Raphael and kids are cute, Raphael doesnt answer his own phone calls, Raphael has a soft spot, Raphael is a good guy, Raphaels harder to kill, Sam and Dean also make an appearance, Seriously Castiel, So does God, What Were You Thinking?, and has that aforementioned soft spot, as ever, as hell, big bad archangel my ass, black goo warning, blowing up the vessel, but not around kiddos, cancer is serious guys, cause theyre bad guys, eventually, ha, hes going to die, his true vessel is not born yet, its canon cause God isn't really there, its cute, its for children, its not impossible, its sad, just no, just very very hard, like an extreme version of musical chairs, lots of blood, loves good mexican food, major confusion if I do, making new friends, no angelic death, no regrets, ok he really is, real bad, seriously, sick kids, sketchy relationships, so no, take advantage, there was a reason God locked those fuckers away, theyre bad, vessel hopping, weird bond shit, wont go into detail yet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-10-03 02:11:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10233356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monkeygirl77/pseuds/Monkeygirl77
Summary: Castiel does not kill Raphael when he blows his vessel apart, but merely sends him scattered to the winds. On the run and in search for a new vessel capable of holding him Raphael gets his first ever prayer since before the dark ages. It has been so long since he has answered, let alone gone to investigate, and what he finds could change the course of events to come in ways no one imagined. Can one little mud monkey show the Healer of Heaven how to be who he was created to be, again? Or is the world doomed to Michael and Lucifer's release and Castiel's tirade of playing God?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I know this is a stretch guys, but like, what if when Castiel blew up Raphael's vessel he didn't actually kill him? It basically left him like Lucifer was left in the beginning of season 12, vessel hopping and weakened from the damage. I didn't like how it went under explored the fact that he was Heaven's Healer, like we all got to see the hard ass deadly side to him, but is that honestly it? Is there more? I would think there would be, seeing as his title and position? What if it was the fall and wars that lead him to be so hardened and cruel? 
> 
> And what if there was finally someone who could show him, teach him, to be the compassionate Healer again? 
> 
> Title: In the Arms of the Angel
> 
> Summery: Castiel does not kill Raphael when he blows his vessel apart, but merely sends him scattered to the winds. On the run and in search for a new vessel capable of holding him Raphael gets his first ever prayer since before the dark ages. It has been so long since he has answered, let alone gone to investigate, and what he finds could change the course of events to come in ways no one imagined. Can one little mud monkey show the Healer of Heaven how to be who he was created to be, again? Or is the world doomed to Michael and Lucifer's release and Castiel's tirade of playing God?

 

* * *

_~~" And the endlessness that you fear_

_ You are pulled from the wreckage _

_ Of your silent reverie _

_ You're in the arms of the angel _

_ May you find some comfort here"~~ _

_~~Angel~~ Sarah Mclachlan_

* * *

While it didn't hurt, being blown up the way he had been, it was still a major inconvenience for one to have to go out and find themselves a new vessel suitable enough to hold them. Raphael was not bothered by being blown to pieces by his uppity younger brother, not in the physical sense, the more mature mental parts of his grand mind was convinced to return to that place and set this little seraph straight.  

However, finding suitable vessels these days was not something that was as easy as it had been. Raphael's true vessel had yet to be born, he was not needed nor required to have one on Earth at the moment, so he was stuck jumping from bloodline to bloodline the vessel would be born from.  

Aggravation took hold of him making it harder than ever to place a vessel usable for such power he held in his being, and it was very easy for him to become distracted by such negative thoughts.  

A voice cut through his clouded mind and his entire world was forced to a stop. It was one thing to ignore a mental message from another angel, but an entirely different situation to ignore a prayer.  

One of the lasting gifts that they did not so much as accept from Father, but more of simply receive.  

 _"Mr.....Mr Rap.....Rap hill....Rap..._ (someone was clearly whispering his name to the one praying and it was becoming increasingly annoying that they were mispronouncing it as it was not such a difficult name) _Raphael... Please help me....I start my new medicine tomorrow and I'm scared and your the Doctor in Heaven and... and....can you help me cause I'm scared.."_

The feathers of his wings bristled at the audacity of a person to call upon him, an archangel. Some human would think he would ever stoop so low as to help a mud monkey.  

And he was still angered by the trouble with saying his name.  

He followed it anyway.  

A direct prayer is like a link, connecting the casting to the angel requested, a mini premature bond that could be broken once sight had been made in an attempt to answer.  

It was something he could not ignore until he investigated it, the stipulation to their Father's unwanted gift.  

The troubled archangel appeared invisibly in a room, a nurse leaving for the night after making her way around, and a small boy sat upon the bed with his little hands folded. Raphael found it easy to hate many many things, but children, human or not, was one of the things he could not.  

This little boy was clearly very sick, and nothing that they were doing was helping the obvious, only making it happen slower.  

Huffing slightly, Raphael walked through the room, reaching for the records kept at the end of the bed and flipped open the top. Eyes skimmed the writing and diagnosis.  

_'Leukemia.'_

Green eyes turned towards the boy curling up around a stuffed toy on the bed.  

_'Terminal, new treatment scheduled for tomorrow morning at 9 am.'_

"Levi?" 

Hazel eyes snapped open on the bed and looked over to see who was calling out for him. He smiled at the nurse in the doorway.  

He knew what time it was.  

"Hi Mrs.Sandy!" 

"Hi sweety," Mrs Sandy Porter was a portly little woman full of life and love for the children under her care, "You know what time it is, don't you?" 

Levi nodded slowly, rolling up his sleeve for his little thin arm, "Is it gonna burn like it did last night?" 

"I hope not sweetie." 

'No.' 

He watched carefully as the woman administered the medicines, as the boy hissed in childish distaste, and the nurse pulled the shot away quick.  

A routine they had made to keep it from getting saddening.  

* * *

_Levi kicked happily on his swing in the dream he had created around him. Kids were running around and playing, and though it seemed as if they were screaming and carrying on, it fell back to mostly background noise._

_It was a memory he remembered so vividly, so lovingly, that he often had this same dream many nights a week--as Raphael came to understand._

_A part of him was confused as to why he had taken interest, why he was still here, but this little one had called him for help and he'd be damned if he didn't give as desired._

_Looking through the boys memories he knew that the child did not ask for a lot._

_The dream he made never faltered and it never changed, so he noticed quickly the strange man watching over him from a bench in the distance. Levi kicked one last time and jumped for it, landing in a spray of pebbles, and ran across the playground._

_This strange newcomer didn't so much as look up from his position staring out in the vast crowded park._

_"Who are you?", Levi asked, feet kicking out in such a way it didn't show in his dreamstate just how sick he was in reality._

_His new strange friend, as everyone was a friend until proven otherwise, sighed as heavy as daddy did when he first started getting sick._

_"You called for an angel, did you not?"_

_Levi looked up at him in surprise, his eyes widened and began to glow with an excited spark, "Are you Rap...Raphill....Rap-"_

_"Raphael?', The angel helped the boy with a hint of annoyance bleeding into his voice (his name was not that hard to pronounce), "I am Raphael."_

_"This is so cool!"_

_Raphael held up a hand, "I do not usually make these sort of visits personally, so listen closely, there is nothing I can do to help you."_

_Levi went still, "But....But you're an angel..can't you....can't you make it go away?"_

_"You are slated to die, Death has already claimed you, you are going to die."_

_It was harsh, but Raphael was not known for his empathy, not anymore at least. Levi looked down at his feet silently no longer that shining exuberant boy he appeared to be. It was mystifying to witness such a thing._

_"But....But you--"_

_"I am no miracle worker, boy."_

_Raphael's features softened ever slightly when a small but perceivable sniffle reached his ear._

_"I cannot keep you from Death, but I can make the process as painless as possible."_

_Levi sniffled again, it was saddening having to tell a child he was going to die, and he looked back up at the angel next to him._

_"You... you can?"_

_"Of course, I am an angel of comfort."_

_The boy nodded, feet kicking slowly once more, and he looked back down to watch them swing back and forth._

_"So you'll stay?"_

_Raphael sighed again, finally looking away to inspect a finger nail, "I have given you my word, haven't I?"_

_Levi smiled at him._

* * *

 

Raphael could not stay at the boys side, not physically as he spent most of his time searching for a vessel to take once more in order to get his revenge on that uppity brother of his and those two no good mud monkeys.  

Levi spent most of his days in treatment though, leaving him free to do as he pleased, leaving a special place for the boys mind he was able to keep track of him while he went about his days searching for someone strong enough. He was able to communicate within the boys mind, having the prayer bond between them still intact and open, should the need ever arise.  

It did not happen often, but there were occasions. 

"Buddy, I know you're not hungry but you have to try something," Mr. Hankin said for what felt like the hundredth time that hour and again Levi turned away from the tray of food, "How about some crackers? You haven't eaten since lunch yesterday." 

"Not hungry." 

It wasn't that the food didn't look good and it wasn't like he wasn't hungry because he knew he must be. But just looking at the food made him want to reach for his bile bucket and throw away whatever must be left in his tummy.  

He just didn't want to eat.  

_'You have to eat something.'_

**'No.'**

_'Why must children be so stubborn? You will not feel better until you have substance in your body.'_

**'I'm not hungry!'**

_'Yes you are. You cannot lie to an angel, let alone one of my standing. Eat.'_  

**'No.'**

_'Child--'_

**'First, that's not my name. And second, my tummy feels funny.'**

_'Levi, you must eat something. I agreed to make the process painless for you, but I will not tolerate you wasting away faster simply because you will not accept any nutrients.'_

The boy looked up startled, feeling as if he had just been scolded for something, and huffed petulantly. For all his apparent wisdom he was still so very much a fledgling and Raphael found it increasingly amusing.  

He nudged the boy with a bit of his grace and a small smile graced his metaphysical features when the shining soul nudged back.  

"Can I have graham crackers? The crumbly cinnamon ones?" 

John Hankin looked the boy over in surprise, this was not the first occurrence of him refusing to eat, but it was the first that he obliged. Nodding, if he was able to get anything into the boy he would take it as a win, and ran from the room to fetch the dry snack.  

_'Does this require a 'Good Boy' encouragement now?'_

**'I'm not a dog.'**

_'No, are you sure, I have seen you sleep and you resemble a puppy immaculately.'_

**'Well thank you because puppy's are cool!'**

_'Just eat your snack child.'_

Levi smiled to himself when he felt the other turn their attention elsewhere and knew he had won that little altercation. In a way.  

Though, his mind was supplying, he had given into his stance in not eating and gotten graham crackers instead.  

 _He was still a winner_ , he thought to himself.  

He also chose to ignore the voice in the back of his mind that sounded oddly like his angel friend telling him _'whatever worked'_.  

* * *

 

_They met frequently in the boys dreams, Raphael having yet to find a vessel strong enough and Levi spending much of his time sleeping because of the multiple medicines and treatments he went through._

_"Why do you always dream of this park?"_

_Again their meeting place was in the park, with the same playground and the swing-set and the kids running around playing in the background._

_Levi shrugged, coloring in a coloring book on the same bench next to him, well at least that was different._

_"I liked the park, the swings were my favorite!"_

_"The place you liked to visit the most was the neighborhood park? Did you not go on vacations with your family? The only place you ever wanted to go to was the park to swing on the swing set?"_

_Raphael sat, leaned back against the back of the bench with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes scanning through the faces of the children scurrying about in childish excitement before turning a glance down to the boy seated next to him._

_Levi shook his head, "Nope, mommy and daddy used to fight a lot and would come down to the park because we used to live right next door. But then I got sick."_

_The angel felt....he wasn't sure what he felt as he did not want to name it to be the emotion sympathy because that would mean he did indeed care for the boy....but he felt bad for the child. He had not lived a loving familial life and then he had contracted this disease._

_"I always wanted to go to the beach though! Daddy was in the Navy and he always told me how cool it was and promised to take us one day... but he never did."_

_"I could take you, in your dreams, if you would like."_

_Levi stilled, turning to look up at him._

_"You can!"_

_"Of course, I am an archangel, there is little I cannot change about this dreamscape."_

_The boy forgot his coloring book, lunging forward to grab at the angels left upper arm excitedly, Raphael started at the sudden movement turning to look down at him in surprise._

_Levi ignored the look._

_"Can you? Can you really?"_

_His angel friend nodded, waving a hand slightly, and he watched in complete amazement as the scene shifted in on itself. The pond rose and the grass sunk, dirt thinning out into sand, and the trees faded away._

_Levi looked around in amazement, jumping from their bench, and running through the sand._

_Sitting back, arms crossed again, Raphael gave a small minute smile at the boys excitement._

_"This is so cool!"_  

* * *

 

Levi was coloring in a similar book he'd had in that dream when they'd gone to the beach, no one was sure how he had gotten it and he hadn't said anything that would cause alarm, and so he was left on his own devices (save for the nurse on her rounds and meal times {which he could no longer skip anymore because of his friend Raphael} and a few visitors of the four legged furry kind) on the one day he was not scheduled that week for treatment.  

"Sweetie?" 

He liked this nurse, she was always so nice and reminded him of grandma and he liked grandma, so he paused in his coloring to look up.  

"Yea?" 

"You have a visitor who wants to see you." 

Levi tilted his head slightly, and far away Raphael paused in his doings when he felt the surge of nervousness from his other half, "Who is it Ms.Sanders?" 

"Your mommy wants to come see you, baby doll." 

**'Rap... Raph...Raphael?'**

_'Are you alright? I can feel your emotions rolling.'_

**'Can you come back?'**

Raphael tilted his metaphysical head at the slight waver of fright in the fledglings tone, _"I am coming."_

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little thing that has been rolling around my head for a while now! I felt like Raphael was such an underdeveloped and under explored character in the show, we don't really see what his personal opinions on the humans were; did he honestly hate them or was that more of to go with the flow of things? He had to be one of my favorite characters, not including Lucifer and Gabriel for obvious reasons (and can I get a yeah for having Mark P back as Luci!) I hope you all like it! Please let me know what you think! I love feedback!
> 
> But!
> 
> More importantly!
> 
> Who is Levi? What's his story? How does this change things for Raphael's story? For others? Why is he frightened of his visitor? Is he truly guaranteed to Death? 
> 
> Stay tune to find out!


End file.
